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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23418946">Peaceful Waters</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/theplatinthehat/pseuds/theplatinthehat'>theplatinthehat</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Paleo Pines (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dinosaurs, Gen, Paleo Pines, getting some peace and quiet</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 09:14:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>830</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23418946</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/theplatinthehat/pseuds/theplatinthehat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been a long hard day on the ranch. You've taken you faithful stead, Lucky, for a ride and found a beautiful spot to cool off.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Peaceful Waters</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So I've totally fallen in love with Paleo Pines - a video game that's currently in development. The basic premise is that you are a dinosaur rancher, and you can befriend dinosaurs and have them help you on your farm. I'm super excited for it and wanted to make some art. Alas, I can't draw, but I can write and so this is my humble offering. I hope you enjoy.</p><p>P.S. I recommend listening with some ambient river sounds for the full experience.</p><p>(Can you tell I miss being outside?)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>It’s been a long day, </em>you think to yourself as you lower your tired feet into the river. The crystal-clear water babbles and burbles around your ankles, and you can feel the stresses and strains of the last few hours just float away with the current.</p><p>It has been a very long day. You were up at the crack of the dawn to fix the fences for the Gallimimus before they could even <em>think</em> about running off again. Then you had gone to give the Archaeopteryx their mid-morning snacks, which you have learned to provide at exactly eleven o’clock. A minute early or a minute late and the flock sure does like to let you know that you don’t live up to their exacting time-keeping standards.</p><p>You’d had to drop all your maintenance plans after that because a call had come from over the hill to say that one of the Triceratops eggs was hatching prematurely, and the team had needed your expertise. The main part of the afternoon had been filled by apple-picking with the Diplodocus herd, which was certainly an experience. And whilst all that has been incredibly fun, and really rewarding, you just needed a break. So, you saddled up Lucky – your faithful stead – and rode out to this peaceful spot.</p><p>Yes, this had definitely been the right thing to do.</p><p>You lean back on the riverbank, fingers becoming tangled in blades of emerald green grass. You look up into the sky and watch pterosaurs wheel and dive amongst the candy-pink clouds of sunset. In the distance, you can hear a herd of Iguanodon begin to sing, welcoming the twilight. The fireflies will be out soon enough.</p><p>There’s a rustle to your right.</p><p>A pack of tiny Compsognathus appear from bush and start drinking a little way upstream from you. You watch them squabble over the best places to access the stream, snapping at one another to establish their place in the pecking order. A young male, still bearing the greenish-scales of his juvenile phase, runs in your direction having spotted a nice flat rock near your knee. He’s almost within touching distance when he clocks onto your presence. He regards you with interest, cocking his head to the right. You hold out your hand, a trick you’ve learned to gain a dinosaur’s trust. Make the first move, but always let them come to you.</p><p>He leans in closer to give your hand an experimental sniff. You hold your breath. Will he go all the way?</p><p>Not this time.</p><p>The compsognathus darts away and barks out a call of alarm. The pack scatters back into the undergrowth with nervous chitters. You smile and lean back again. There’s always next time.</p><p>It’s a peaceful evening and everything is as it should be.</p><p>A gust of hot air hits the back of your head, messing up your hair, followed by a gentle nudge against your shoulder. It’s Lucky. She noses at your arm, eyes widened expectantly.</p><p>You laugh, patting her on the head. “I know what <em>you </em>want.”</p><p>You reach into your bag and produce a juicy orange carrot, offering it to the parasaurolophus on your open palm. Lucky snaffles it greedily, enjoying the treat with great gusto. She stands up on her hind legs and lets out a loud honk to show her appreciation.</p><p>“I love you too,” you grin.</p><p>Lucky decides to join you by the stream and lies in the grass with a satisfied grunt. You listen to her breath relax. She needed a break just as much as you did.</p><p>As the two of you sit there in silence, a mother Stegosaurus lumbers into view – her magnificent maroon dermal plates glistening in the light of the setting sun. She looks around the river with a cautious gaze before calling in the direction she had come. Out of the forest bursts three tiny stegosaurs – one yellow, one orange and one brown. They call to one another, playing as they dash over to be with their mother. With an air gentle patience, the mother leans down and shows the youngsters how to drink from the stream. It takes the babies a couple of goes, but soon they’re drinking like they’ve had years of practice. You’re totally entranced by the spectacle playing out in front of you.</p><p>It’s absolutely magical.</p><p>As soon as the family has had their fill, the four of them wander back into the forest. They disappear into the depths of the trees, but you can hear them calling to one another as they go.</p><p>Once they’ve completed vanished from view, you turn back to Lucky and tell her it’s time to leave. The parasaurolophus gives a grunt of protest, but as soon as you say the magic words ‘carrot’ and ‘home’ she becomes much more reasonable. You secure her saddle and mount onto her back.</p><p>“Come on, girl,” you say with an affectionate rub of her neck. “Let’s go.”</p><p>You’ve got work to do.</p>
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